With Your Love
by brigadoonlove
Summary: Lily Swan, Bella's compassionate and fiery cousin, grew up on the reservation but moved away after her mom got remarried. She spent every summer in La Push since then, but this time she's back for good. Follow Lily as she fights to keep her lifelong friendship with Leah and tries convince her other best friend that they're actually soul mates.
1. Chapter 1

" _It's like you're screaming, and no one can hear you. You almost feel ashamed that someone could be that important. That without them, you feel like nothing." - We Found Love, Rihanna (Beginning Narration)_

 **1\. Home**

There would never be anything more beautiful than First Beach in La Push, Washington, I decided as I walked pleasantly along the shore. The feel of sand on my toes and the damp breeze of the Olympic Peninsula took me back, to the last day I'd spent on the beach two summers before.

The sun was just beginning to break through the clouds and the water continued to crash to shore with the wind, the cliffs looking nothing short of breathtaking. I climbed up the slope, heading to a small cul-de-sac that was nestled between First Beach and a never-ending amount of trees.

When the tiny, red house came into view, my pulse began to quicken and I mentally wondered if I should just high-tail it back to my car. I could do this tomorrow, right? I sighed dramatically. No, tomorrow was my job-searching day.

Everything about this house looked exactly the same. The small porch was painted a dark brown, with a ramp coming off the side in place of steps, an array of empty flower pots were scattered on the opposite side, and right in the middle was the tattered rocking chair that Sarah used to sit in while the kids all played in the front yard. _Still exactly the same_.

Nothing big ever happened around here, did it?

Before I had time to change my mind, I was knocking on the front door and praying that nobody would be home. No such luck, of course. I could hear the wheelchair squeak against the old linoleum of the kitchen just like I'd seen happen a dozen times.

The door opened with a loud creak and I was suddenly face to face with Billy Black. Silence. I wasn't sure what to say to him at this point and I was still secretly hoping that this was an illusion. His eyes searched my face for a moment before dropping to the saran-wrapped pie that was in my hands.

"Well what the hell are you standing out here for?" Billy guffawed, a playful smile on his lips. "Come on in and let me get a taste of that pie."

I was filled with relief at the invitation, even if it was only because everybody knew that I made the best pies from La Push to Tacoma. I entered the small kitchen and shut the door behind me, following Billy to the round, wooden table that was in the center of the room. Three chairs sat around it, with a space for Billy to pull his wheelchair up to.

I pulled out the drawer by the sink and prided myself in still knowing where the silverware was. I grabbed a fork and sat the pie directly in front of Billy. "It's blackberry," I told him. "Fresh, too. Made it this morning." His eyes lit up and I watched him take a large fork-full into his mouth, completely satisfied.

My eyes swept over the place, taking in all the pictures that were hung on the far wall. The couch was worn, along with just about everything else in the house, and everything was in the same spot since the last time I'd been here. The coffee table and the counters were cluttered with mail and old paper plates, and I wrinkled my nose in disgust at the awful, rotten smell that hit me.

In all the summers that I'd spent on the couch of the Black's, I'd never seen this place look so horrifying. When Sarah was still alive, things were always immaculate. But even after her death, the place had never looked this bad. A little cluttered, yeah. But this was disgusting.

My eyes flickered over to the bedroom that belonged to Jacob and my heart skipped a beat. The door was wide open, and his bed was a mess of red sheets but there was absolutely no sign of Jacob. Which then reminded me why I was here.

"Hey, Billy," I focused back to him. He'd already eaten half the pie, and he gave me an impish grin. I rolled my eyes but grinned back. "Do you know where I could find Jacob?"

Billy's majestic eyes shot up to mine almost instantly, a stunned expression on his face. "I would have thought that your dad had told you," he murmured quietly, putting down his fork.

"We got in late last night, and I came straight over here this morning," I explained to him, confusion clear in my voice. "Why? What's going on?"

"You might want to sit down for this," he said as he laid back in his chair. I obliged and looked at him expectantly, mildly terrified of what he was going to say. Had Jacob told him that he didn't want anything to do with me anymore? Had he found someone else? My mind was spinning with a dozen questions before he finally spoke again. "Jake ran away."

I blinked. "What?"

Billy sighed. "He had a rough year, and things got pretty shaky, so he took off a couple weeks ago. Said he'd be back when he was ready."

Another blink. "Are you serious?"

He nodded, a sad look appearing on his face.

I tried to wrap my mind around the situation. Things got hard and Jacob left. He just, left. That didn't sound at all like the Jacob that I'd known and loved for the last nineteen years of my life. With Jacob, when things got hard, you learned how to deal with it. You never ran away.

"What happened?" I asked, still in shock.

Billy shrugged, but didn't say another word. He'd always been the type of parent to let Jacob be. He needed to make his own mistakes and learn from himself. Billy would explain his side but then typically let Jacob experience things for himself. So it honestly didn't surprise me in the slightest that when Jacob decided to run away, Billy just accepted it.

I tried to think of all the things that could possibly go wrong in Jacob's life that he would need to run away. _Maybe it had something to do with school? Or Quil and Embry_? As much as it pained me to wonder, maybe a girl? I knew Jacob like the back of my own hand. Hell, I probably even knew him better. There had to be some other reason for him leaving.

Billy's rough voice interrupted my inner monologue after a few moments. "Look, I'm gonna be honest with you, Lily," he started. "Jacob's changed a lot. He's a completely different person from the boy you spent days on the beach with. He's had to grow up fast and he got a lot of responsibility in the tribe this year. It's made him a little bitter. Maybe, and I'm just throwing this out there, but maybe it'd be best if you just spent this summer focusing on something else. He probably won't come back until you leave for college in the fall, anyways."

I gaped at him. Something was definitely up. Did he actually leave? Or was he just planning on avoiding me all summer? Sure, things hadn't ended the greatest for us, but Jacob couldn't ever hold a grudge to save his life. I figured a fresh pie would help persuade him to listen to my pleas for forgiveness.

"That'll be kind of hard," I said quietly, closing my eyes and trying to fight back the tears. "Because I'm not leaving at the end of the summer."

…

If there was anybody in this entire state of Washington that would tell me what was really up, it would be Quil Ateara. He was one of Jacob's best friends and he was the worst secret-keeper that I'd ever met in my entire life. He was usually the last person to know anything and it drove him absolutely crazy, but he had nobody to blame but himself.

His mom had answered the door and explained that he wasn't home but he was probably at Emily Young's house. This stopped me in my tracks. Quil wasn't friends with Emily Young – basically nobody on the reservation was since everything went down with Leah. Something was definitely up around here, I decided as I drove down a long, gravelly driveway that ended at a two-story yellow house that was extremely well-kept. White window boxes hung from the window sills, with beautiful violets popping out. The house seemed new, but lived-in, like it could tell a pretty interesting story.

As soon as I cut the engine, three men exited the house with strange expressions on their faces. Two of them were completely shirtless and another was wearing a t-shirt. I sat in the truck for a moment, examining the faces. I should have known that Sam Uley would be here, considering he was engaged to Emily. Things with the two of us hadn't ended so hot since I told him to fuck off at Harry's funeral when he tried to speak to Leah about something _private_.

I sighed and hopped out of the truck, eyeing the men as I slowly walked towards the porch. The one whose face was familiar spoke first. "Can I help you?" His voice was menacing, almost like a warning.

My eyes narrowed. "I was actually looking for Quil Ateara," I replied. "Have you seen him?"

Sam was about to say something before his eyes focused on something behind me. "Well it must be your lucky day," I heard Quil's voice boom. I spun around, a smile across my face, and tackled him in a hug. He laughed at the urgency but hugged me back all the same.

"Dude, I've missed you," I breathed, pulling back to properly examine him. His face had lost the boyish feature that he'd possessed for all those years and he'd definitely gotten bigger, but other than that he was basically the same. "Has anyone ever told you that steroids are bad for you?"

"Oh how I've missed your sarcasm," he rolled his eyes at my jab but pulled me in for another hug. "So, what brings you here?"

I shifted uncomfortably, my eyes falling to the ground. "I need to talk to you about something, but it's kind of private."

Quil only nodded, glancing to the porch. My eyes went with him and I examined the porch of boys intently. I recognized a few features of Embry Call and my mouth nearly fell open. Last time I'd seen him he was tall and lean, but now muscles covered every inch of his chest and arms. He smiled warmly at me and I returned the gesture. Still shy, I see.

The other three were staring at me with intrigued expressions. One of them had a hard look on his face, almost as if he was angry. His muscles were much more impressive compared to the others and I felt this insatiable need to run my hands along his chest and up his neck. His stare became colder as the seconds ticked by, but rather than cowering away from the glare, I winked, which was then returned with a smirk.

"Is it cool if we go down to the beach?" Quil directed the question towards Sam, which only confused me further.

"Yeah," Sam replied easily. "Your shift starts at nine."

Quil nodded, pulling at my wrist, and we climbed into my car, heading for the beach.

"I honestly didn't even know if you were coming this summer," Quil started and I grinned over at him. He'd never been very good at small talk and I could almost bet that he knew what I was needing to speak to him about.

"I'm actually here permanently," I said. Quil's eyes lit up at my statement at the same time that we pulled into the beach parking lot.

"No way!" he exclaimed.

I nodded happily, and he continued to grin. Quil was always the happy, but flirtatious one of the three boys that I'd grown up with. Embry was shyer and kept to himself unless he really knew you. Jacob was the down-to-earth one, and he had a huge heart. But one thing that they all possessed was the ability to make anybody smile.

"So Sam said your shift started at nine?" I questioned. "You have a night job?" Last time I checked he was still sixteen, regardless of how old he actually looked. I could see why he'd want a job, but so late? It didn't add up.

He nodded though. "Yeah, we sort of protect the reservation."

"So kind of like police officers?"

He shrugged. "I guess, but nowhere near as official. We just keep an eye on things for the council, more like a neighborhood watch."

"Yeah and why the fuck do you have to be working for Sam Uley?" I shot at him.

"He's really not as bad as everyone says," he defended himself which earned a snort from me.

When he left Leah, her entire world flipped upside down. They were supposed to be a sure thing. He'd asked her to marry him and everything – Emily and I were going to be the Maids of Honor – but then one day he just up and left her, and next think I knew he was engaged to Emily. It was despicable on both their parts.

"That's bullshit, Quil," I snapped at him. "What he did to Leah was unforgivable and he deserves every ounce of hatred that people throw at him. He doesn't have any kind of a right to tell people what to do, which I know is what he's been doing. He tried to tell Leah she couldn't talk to me like he had any kind of fucking place –"

"I'm not justifying what he did, Lily," Quil interrupted me, arguing back. "But one relationship mistake doesn't make him a bad person. Leah's found a way to forgive him too, you know."

This shocked me. Leah was a lot of things and forgiving wasn't one of them. I hadn't spoken to her in a while because she wasn't returning my calls, which was killing me, but that didn't mean that I knew her any less.

"Alright let's cut the crap," I said a little too fast, already nervous for the answer I would receive. "What's this shit I hear about Jake running away?"

Quil shrugged, obviously expecting the question. "He had a hard year and he bolted for the summer."

I raised my eyebrow. "So he's gonna be back in time for school?"

"Well, actually," Quil's voice was nervous at my interrogation. "He never said when he'd come back. We all just sort of assumed that he'd come back for school."

I thought about that for a moment. Jacob never really cared that much about school, so if he was still pissed off about whatever it is that made him leave, then he'd stay away for as long as he could. Unless he finally started to miss his friends and family. Which brought me to my other question.

"What exactly do you mean when you say he had a hard year?" We stopped at a bench on the tree line and sat down. He looked like he was contemplating with himself, trying to figure out which words to use.

"Are you sure you want me to tell you this?" Quil asked.

I nodded. "I need to know."

"Well, basically, Jake met a girl," he began. Just those first few words hit home and I sucked in a deep breath, determined to keep my composure in front of him. "She was dating this guy for a while in high school and then his family ended up having to move for some job. Because he moved, they broke up, and she was basically like night of the living dead. She was a total zombie. But she started hanging out with Jake and she started to feel a little bit better. Color started coming back to her face and she was beginning to actually smile again. Jake was totally smitten with her and she was just beginning to have feelings back. Then, the ex-boyfriend came back. She immediately went back to him and Jake was torn up pretty bad."

"Damn."

"That's not even the worst of it. This girl and her boyfriend are getting married now, and Jake got an invitation in the mail. That's why he bolted, because he was so pissed that she chose someone else and they're getting married so fast."

"Wait a second," I was trying to have my mind catch up with Quil's words. "What's her name?"

"Bella Swan."

"You do know that she's my cousin, right?"

Quil blinked at my words, thinking. "Huh," he said. "Guess I never put two and two together."

I sighed and leaned back. Bella and I were absolutely nothing alike. She had flawless, pale skin with chocolate brown eyes and hair that was a mixture between brown and auburn. She was clumsy and kept to herself for the most part. I knew her briefly for the few weeks in the summers that she'd spend in Forks, when our parents would force us to hang out, but she'd stopped coming here years before.

She'd moved in with my Uncle Charlie about a year and a half before and when she'd announced her marriage, we were all surprised. Bella was never the marriage type, in fact I didn't even see her as the relationship type. Especially not with Jacob.

"So what about things with you, huh?" Quil asked me. "What the hell has happened the last two years?"

I let my eyes fall to my lap and I could feel the blush that was evident on my cheeks. I hadn't talked to anybody about things with Jacob and I since it all went down, but Quil was waiting expectantly.

"What do you want to know?"

"Why did you break up with Jacob?"

I scoffed at his words. "We weren't even really together, Quil."

"Oh, bullshit," Quil snapped, which caught me by surprise. "You and Jake spent every waking moment together that summer, most of which involved you guys making out. Besides, you know just as well as I do that he wanted to be with you."

I shook my head in argument. "I really don't know how to explain it to you, just like I didn't know how to explain it to him. But we weren't ready, and I could feel that. I just had this horrible feeling about it after I got home, nothing seemed right. I can almost guarantee you that if we'd stayed together, something would have happened that tore us apart. Something bigger than just my change of heart."

"Like what?"

"Like Bella needing someone to lift her up after a heartbreak. I have no doubt in my mind that things with Jake and her would have played out similarly, and adding me to the equation would have made everything even more complicated."

Quil furrowed his eyebrows. "So what? You're glad that everything happened with them?"

"Not necessarily," I explained. Especially not the Jacob falling in love with someone else part. "But he helped her through a really tough time in her life. It was her first heartbreak, and if we're lucky it'll be her last. I remember Charlie talking to my dad about how weird she was acting after Edward left, and if I know anybody who could've pulled her through, it would be Jacob. Yeah, it sucks big time that it all resulted in Jake getting his heart broken. But he'll get through it, and when he comes back I can help him."

Quil sighed at my declaration and ran a hand through his hair. "Jacob is really different now, Lily…"

"Yeah, yeah. So I've heard. Billy told me, but what you guys fail to understand is that I'm different now, too. People change and they grow, and ever since I was seven I've felt a connection with him. We're meant to be, whether you believe it or not. So I'll help him through this, if he lets me."

"Alright, so what if he doesn't let you?"

"Then I'll figure it out," I assured him. "Things will all work out in the end, you'll see."

"But Lily, what if it doesn't work out?"

I closed my eyes, hoping that he couldn't see my perseverance wavier. "It has to."

…

 **Hello all! I just want to get everybody up to speed on who this story is centered around: Lily Swan. Lily is Bella's cousin that grew up around the reservation, but moved away when she was nine. She's 1/4 Quileute and best friends with Leah and Jacob. She spent every summer in Forks/La Push since then, until an incident happened with Jacob. She took a summer off from going but she graduated in the spring and she's actually moving back. This story takes place directly after Eclipse ends, while Jacob's gone. A few changes that were made to the plot: vampires are not fertile, plain and simple. It never made sense before, if they're really frozen, how can they? Also, this will not be a hate story towards Bella. Although she made some questionable decisions, I don't think that she was out of line in how she did things. She was a broken-hearted teenage girl (her first broken heart at that) and everybody handles pain differently. You'll come to see that Lily and Bella are very different, and I know that stories like these have been done but this one will be different. Oh! And please, PLEASE try to remember that Lily is a normal teenage girl. Normal teenage girl's date multiple boys (at least all the ones that I've known have). Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight, and this carries on throughout the story.**

 **Reviews are welcome, in fact they're encouraged!**

 **-J.**


	2. Chapter 2

" _Every day we pray for you, 'til the day we meet again. In my heart is where I'll keep you friend. Memories give me strength I need to proceed, strength I need to believe." – I'll Be Missing You, Puff Daddy ft. 112 and Faith Evans_

 **2\. Daisies**

My grandparents' love story was the kind that people made movies about. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if this one came out in theaters twenty years from now. Grandpa John worked on Wall Street but was destined to take over the multi-million dollar family business. Grandma Louise, though, worked at the small family-owned store and she had no future plans whatsoever.

Grandpa John was visiting distant family in Port Angeles and got lost in the middle of a snow storm. The only place that he could find open was about an hour down the road at The Q – the little store that was owned by my great grandparents. They had decided to stay open just in case someone needed anything and they sent Grandma Louise to look after things. Thank goodness they did because the rest, as they say, was history.

Grandpa swept Grandma off her feet and whisked her all the way to New York where they married and popped out my mom – Nadine – who was raised going to expensive private schools and learning three different languages. But my grandma never forgot her heritage, and every summer she sent my mom to stay with family where she learned everything imaginable about Quileute culture.

Of course my mom fell in love with La Push and after she graduated from New York University with a degree in Business and Entrepreneurship, she took over The Q from her grandparents and lived a normal life.

My mom's best friend was Sue Jones, who was happily engaged to a young Harry Clearwater. Through Harry is how she met Sarah and Billy Black. That's also how she met my dad. They went on a few dates and the outcome was me. My mom liked to say that they were "in like," and my dad always said it was the eyes that got him. Neither of them loved each other and they didn't get married, but Sue got pregnant right around the same time.

Leah Clearwater was one of the greatest things to ever happen in my life, and if you know anything about Leah you'd know that people don't say that often. Practically every childhood memory that I had starred her. I was there when she fell out of the tree outside her house and broke her arm. I was there when she beat up Caroline Marks for calling me a pale face in the second grade. I was there when Sam broke up with her for Emily. I was there when Harry had his heart attack back in March.

But for some reason, Leah wouldn't talk to me. She dodged my calls and locked her window (because when we were kids I always climbed up her tree to come inside) – she basically ignored me like the plague. I couldn't understand what I did to lose all of my best friend's right before moving back and I was permanently in a slump.

The day after I spoke with Quil, I went to the Black's house and told Billy basically the same thing that I'd told Quil – we were meant to be together, and things would find a way. Of course, after two weeks of waiting I was beginning to fall short. I decided that helping Billy while Jacob was gone would be my priority. I spent three full days cleaning the house from top to bottom and making Billy enough healthy meals to last him a week.

Billy only rolled his eyes and mumbled about being able to take care of himself, but I knew that he appreciated the gesture. He told me to stop by anytime that I wanted to, but I didn't want to be a bother or make him feel useless so I went about once a week to see if he needed anything. I think he enjoyed the company all the same.

My parents made me a deal that if I got a job, they would help buy me a car as long as I was able to afford the gas, so I was currently employed at the local coffee shop. I spent my days off hiking the forests around my house and the evenings reading book after book that I checked out from the library.

Today, though, I was lounging on the couch with Billy in his chair next to me, watching NCIS and eating a nearly endless amount of popcorn. He told me stories and we looked through old pictures. I passed through photographs of everybody through the years. Billy, Harry, Charlie, and my dad sitting on the dock on Second Beach, fishing poles in their hands. There was still a lot of racism within the reservation when they were kids, little white and native boys playing weren't a normality, but the four of them were pretty much inseparable anyways.

There were countless baby pictures of Jacob and the twins, and pictures of the two of us playing in diapers. Billy and I chattered on with each picture, seeing if either of us could remember when they were taken. I was examining one of my parents – their hands intertwined looking more in love than ever – when I realized that Billy had gotten quiet, which was typically unusual for a Black.

He was staring at a picture in his hands and I noticed that his eyes had disappeared. He wasn't in present day anymore, he was off somewhere more peaceful and beautiful, before things got fucked up. When I looked at the picture I knew, he was somewhere with Sarah.

…

Jacob had Sarah's eyes – the kind of eyes you could get lost in. They were a light brown, and they lit up at the smallest bit of good news. She was beautiful too, in the mom kind of way. Her hair was black as night and cascaded in tight curls around her face, and her skin was clear with a few laugh lines. She always smelled like daisies, which was her favorite flower. She had them scattered in mismatched vases and mason jars all around the house, and looking back on it now I realize that it was the best smell in the world.

She was the kind of woman that wore an apron when she cooked, and when she cooked everyone got seconds. Jacob got his happiness from her too – the ability to always be optimistic. She tended to find something good in the hard times and she could always see the purest part of a person. She was maternal and incredible and one of the most influential people in my life.

Sarah watched the lot of us on the weekdays – Leah, Seth, Embry, and I, not to mention the three of her own – and she was the most patient person I'd ever met in my life because of it.

Jacob and I had just gotten in a fight because he popped the head off of my favorite Barbie doll. I was pouting on the porch step, waiting for my mom to pick me up, when she plopped herself right next to me and wrapped her arm around my shoulders.

"Do you want to talk about it, sweetie?" She asked.

I shrugged, a single tear falling down my cheek and looking away. "Jacob broke my Barbie." My voice caught as I said it, a horrible pain running through me at my Barbie being ruined.

"I know, honey, and one day he'll be sorry he ever did it," she said quietly. "I know it's hard for you to understand right now, but there are more important things in life besides Barbie's."

"Like what?" I asked, suddenly curious.

She smiled warmly at my reaction. "Like friends – Jacob's your friend, right?"

"Jacob doesn't wanna be my friend cause I'm a girl," I pouted.

She squeezed my shoulders ever so slightly, a tinkling of a laugh coursing through her. "Jacob will change his mind one day, I promise," she assured me.

"How do you know?" I asked dubiously.

"Did you know that Billy and I grew up next door to each other?" I shook my head in response. "Well, we did. We couldn't stand each other, fought like cats and dogs. But then when we got older things started to change, and we fell in love."

I made a disgusted face at the word. No way would I ever fall in love with Jacob Black. He smelled like dirt and didn't let me play race cars with him.

"I know it's hard to believe now, sweetie. But things could change," she explained. Just then my mom's car pulled in and both of us stood up. "Now go on in and get your bag, I'll talk to your mama."

I ran in to get my back pack – the pink power ranger one – and when I came back out they were whispering hurriedly about something. Sarah turned back to me, a smile on her face that I could now identify as mischievous.

"I'll see you at the recital," she said happily, placing a swift kiss on my head. "Maybe I'll even make some chocolate brownies to celebrate."

I grinned at her, nodding excitedly. I hugged her tight, my head barely reaching her waist. "Love you Aunt Sarah," I said quietly.

Her long arms wrapped around my small frame in response. "I love you too, Lily-Loo."

She never made it to my recital.

In fact, I didn't make it either.

She was killed by a drunk driver on her way home from the grocery store two days later, and then I quit dance.

…

I figured that if Sarah was here we never would have moved away. Jacob and I would have grown up spending every waking moment together and he would have taken me to a dance and given me a daisy – because his mother never would have let him give me anything else – and we would have had the most mind-blowing kiss at the end of the night. Jacob wouldn't have fallen for Bella and he wouldn't have run away. Instead he would be sitting next to me on the couch, his hand locked in mine, and Sarah would be in the chair on the other side of Billy giving me a look that said nothing but "I told you so."

But Sarah wasn't here and rather than the house smelling like daisies it smelled like bleach and cleaning supplies, thanks to me. They were all guesses anyways. Maybe in reality, Sarah would have been what won out for Bella to choose Jacob, because she was the greatest person in the world. Or maybe Sarah wouldn't have even liked her.

It wasn't fair that we'd never know.

…

The flowers were beautifully detailed, and they started on the left side of my back, around my ribcage. They stemmed up into three different daisies, ending at the top of my shoulder blade. The tattoo artist had been apprehensive about my getting such a large one as my first tattoo, but I promised to sit in silence as the needle broke through my skin. Besides, as my mom had said: "You might as well go big or go home, Lils."

When I'd asked my mom if I could get a tattoo I had expected her to laugh in my face, and then she'd call Dad to laugh with her and all ideas would be out the window. Instead she got quiet, which was almost scarier, and calmly asked what kind of tattoo I wanted and where, and I think that was the only reason she said yes. She had to talk to my dad first, which took even more convincing, but we won in the end.

It had been painful, but not unbearable, and even though it hurt my neck to look at it in the mirror, I couldn't not look. The flowers were a permanent dedication to Sarah. They would be etched into my skin, right behind my heart, for the rest of my life.

…

 **I know that things are kind of slow right now, but I felt that it was important for you guys to see the kind of relationship that Lily and Sarah had, and how incredibly influential Sarah and her death were in Lily's life even though Lily was so young at the time. It also gives you quite a bit of back story and explains why she's spending time with Billy rather than Leah. Things will be getting more interesting next chapter, I promise. Don't forget to review!**

 **\- J.**


	3. Chapter 3

" _Ain't it funny, rumors fly and I know you heard about me. So hey, let's be friends. I'm dying to see how this one ends. Grab your passport and my hand, I can make the bad guys good for a weekend." – Blank Space, Taylor Swift_

 **3\. Date**

"That boy over there is staring at you," my coworker, Jessica, said to me as she poured coffee into a cup for herself, taking a long sip. I was standing in the back against the coffee machine. My shift had ended already but I was waiting for our manager to finish doing the payroll.

I sighed. "I know, he has been for a while," I replied. The boy in which she was referring to was one of Jacob's friends from the reservation. He was the one that had smirked at me as I left Emily Young's house a few weeks before. He had spent the last hour watching me with brooding eyes and it was starting to make me feel uncomfortable.

Jessica raised an eyebrow at me. "Who is he?"

I shrugged in explanation. I had been warned by people few and far between that Jessica Stanley was the town gossip and I didn't feel like being headlining news any more than I already was. Even if I technically wasn't new, I was still the center of attention everywhere I went. But rather than people being interested in why we moved back or what Texas was like, I was bombarded with questions about Bella.

"Oh, come on. You must know him somehow," she prodded.

I sighed again, knowing that I wouldn't get out of this. "I've seen him around the reservation before. I think he's friends with Jacob."

Her eyes lit up as soon as I mentioned Jacob's name and I knew that I'd made a mistake. This was a small town, after all. The love triangle between the two boys and my cousin was probably on the front page of the newspaper.

"Jacob? As in Jacob Black?" She asked, hopping up to sit on the counter across from me. I nodded in response. "How do you know Jacob?"

I thought about how I should answer. Should I say that we used to date? No, that would probably be too weird because of Bella. Should I say that I've just heard about him from mutual friends? No, that wouldn't make sense as to why I mentioned his name in the first place.

"I've known Jake since we were in diapers," I explained to her as I wiped the counter around her with the sanitation rag, trying to preoccupy myself. "He's one of my best friends."

Her eyes were wide with curiosity. "Oh, so you know what happened with him and Bella then?" She asked nonchalantly. I felt myself unintentionally wince at the mention of their fateful relationship and prayed that she didn't notice.

No such luck.

"Oh my God!" She exclaimed, a wide smile spreading across her face. "You totally like him!"

"I do not," I protested a little too fast.

She narrowed her eyes at me. "It's written all over your face, Lily," she accused.

I peeked around the cabinet to see if the boy was still there and I met a pair of cold, brown eyes. He was glaring at me, his expression almost exact to the expression he'd made less than a month ago at Sam's. At first I was shocked – what had I done for him to be so cold to me? But after the initial shock wore off, I felt myself glare right back at him.

"Honestly," I turned back to reason with her. "It's just hard for me to talk about, ever since he skipped town. I miss him, you know? And I didn't even get a chance to see him before he took off."

"Oh, yeah. I forgot about that."

I didn't know how she could, with the thousands of posters that Charlie was plastering all over the Olympic Peninsula. I had taken down the poster in the coffee shop on my second day, not willing to work while I was staring into his beautiful brown eyes through piece of freaking paper.

"Do you know why he left, anyway?" Again with the nonchalance. It's like she thought that I didn't know she was nosy.

I shrugged. "He just needed to get away for a while."

"I bet it had something to do with Bella," she scoffed. In the month that I'd been here, I'd also learned that Bella and Jessica didn't necessarily get along. They were acquaintances but no more. Some kind of drama with an ex-boyfriend.

All of the drama that surrounded Bella made me seriously question her life choices.

"Why do you say that?" I asked, trying to act like I didn't know.

She looked around for a moment, as if to make sure nobody was listening, and then started whispering. "The two of them had a thing for a while when Edward left. But then Edward came back and Bella went back to him. One day Jacob came to the school on his _motorcycle_ ," she emphasized the word like it was a big deal. Which in Forks, it probably was. "It looked like they were going to have a fist fight right in the parking lot. Then Bella hopped on the motorcycle and they took off."

I furrowed my eyebrows at her explanation. "Why'd she leave with Jacob?"

"Nobody really knows," Jessica shrugged. "Edward was really pissed, and people made bets all week on who would win if the two of them fought." She took another long swig of her coffee and then poured the rest in the sink. "I thought she was into Jacob, too. You could kind of tell the way they acted around each other, there was some sort of chemistry there. He even came to the graduation party at the Cullen's. But then less than a month later I got Bella and Edward's wedding invitation in the mail."

It hadn't occurred to me that all of this happened so close together. It didn't make sense for Bella to be sort of in love with someone else but get married to Edward.

Our manager, a middle aged woman with pin straight brown hair and freckles, came up from her office. Jessica jumped down immediately, her cheeks tinting red. "Here you go," she handed me a rectangular piece of paper that was larger than a normal check. I felt the smile spread across my face. My first paycheck.

I actually worked for this.

I had made a whole $170.00.

This was big.

"I guess we'll never really know what happened with the three of them anyway," Jessica sighed in disappointment, interrupting me from my admiration.

"Yeah, probably not," I agreed, stuffing the check in my small cross-body. "But I know one thing's for sure."

She quirked an eyebrow. "What's that?"

"Jacob totally would have won that fight," I replied with a smirk and headed towards the front door. The boy watched me, rather indiscreetly, as I passed which only seemed to tick me off more. He had barely even touched his coffee. Was he here to spy on me or something? Did this have anything to do with Jacob?

I turned the corner as soon as I was outside and took a seat at the bench that sat against the building. It wasn't one minute later before I saw him stalk out the door and head towards a beat up truck.

"Hey," I yelled at him. He turned around as I jogged across the lot to confront him. If I was being completely honest with myself, I was scared half to death. He was more menacing than my social studies teacher back in Texas (he got fired for throwing a chair at a student… yeah).

"I'm Lily," I said confidently. "You are friends with Quil, right?"

He nodded. "I'm Paul." His voice was neither friendly nor unfriendly but something still felt off with him.

"Is there a reason you have been staring at me for the past hour?" I asked in an irritated tone. He had to know that outwardly staring at someone was rude, right?

"Who says I was staring at you?" Paul snapped at me. He took a small step closer me, probably trying to throw me off.

I narrowed my eyes at him and stepped closer. "Seriously? I _saw_ you," I shot back.

"A little conceited, are you?" he growled. "Maybe you should get over yourself."

I stared at him for a moment, completely in awe. Who the hell did this guy think that he was? I didn't even know him and you would think that I was the devil.

"Maybe you should lay off the steroids, Paul," I sneered. "I heard 'roid rage is a pretty big side effect!"

His eyes flared at my words and his hands began to tremble forcefully. I somehow knew, deep down, that I needed to back off. Paul was seriously angry and I had no idea what he was capable of.

"There's a lot that you don't know about me, Lily," he said, his voice low and husky. I stared at him for a moment, gawking. I knew that he was part of Sam's gang and I knew that he was notorious around the reservation for his temper. He was cute, too. His cheekbones were sharp, his eyes so dark that they were almost black. He wasn't the tallest out of the gang, but he was exceptionally muscular compared to the others. I realized in that moment that all the things I knew about him were the rumors that I'd been told over the years, aside from physical appearance.

My eyes softened as I watched him, a smile playing at my lips. "Well, then," I said confidently. "Why don't we change that?"

He furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "What?"

I dug in my purse until I found the small notepad that was typically used for grocery lists, jotting down my address and shoving the paper to him. "I'm free tonight, around six o'clock? I haven't eaten at the diner in Forks in ages," I said to him, turning to leave. "Oh and, not that I mind or anything, but can you at least wear a shirt?"

He just stood there, staring at the paper in his hands and then moved his eyes back up to mine. I smiled, which got me a small smirk in return, and sauntered to the truck to leave.

…

I took one last look at myself in the mirror, making sure that everything was in place. I had a mess of dark brown curls that framed my heart shaped face falling to the middle of my back. My skin was a light caramel color that contrasted nicely with the white V-neck blouse and yellow printed skirt that I'd decided to wear. I was just under 6 feet, with long arms and legs. My eyes were a striking blue, which was unusual for a girl with Quileute blood, but I could thank my grandparents for that.

I heard the doorbell ring and glanced at the clock at my nightstand. 6:01. He was punctual, that's for sure.

I slipped on a pair of blue wedges, grabbed my cross-body purse, and rushed downstairs to get the door. By the time I made it to the bottom, my mom had already opened the door and was greeted with a smug Paul. I smiled at him as I approached, taking in his appearance. He wore a navy blue shirt and khaki shorts, a flannel covering his arms. He was simple, but gorgeous all the same.

"Mom," I said as she stared open-mouthed at him. "This is my date, Paul."

He smirked at her, holding out his hand. She took it, not a single word coming from her mouth. Never in my life had I seen my mother speechless, but apparently all it took was an attractive Quileute boy. My dad, who had been spending a suspicious amount of time at our house lately, came up behind us then and I flushed in embarrassment.

"Who's this?" my dad said as he eyed Paul.

He spoke this time, and I was grateful for his manners. "Paul Lahote, sir," he said, holding his hand out for my father. He took it, but his expression was still wary.

"How old are you, Paul?" he asked and I closed my eyes, trying to be patient. If I rushed this interrogation at all, my dad would only get suspicious and drag it out longer which I unfortunately knew from experience.

"Seventeen."

This seemed to break my mom out of her trance, probably realizing that he's not legal. She turned her gaze to me, a small blush appearing on her cheeks as she realized that she'd been gawking openly. My mother was always a shy woman at first, but she was a spit-fire when it came down to it and I'd inherited most of that.

My dad didn't say anything after Paul's declaration and I took it as an opportunity. "Well, we're going to head out," I said, stepping in front of my parents. "I'll be back by ten."

I turned abruptly, wrapping my arm around Paul's bicep and leading him back down the sidewalk to his truck. It was an old, red Ford and his face flushed a light red when he told me that the passenger side door didn't work, so I'd have to slide through. I wiggled carefully into my seat, making sure that my skirt didn't ride up, and he followed suit. He let the engine come to life and we headed off to the diner.

…

First beach was even more beautiful in moonlight with the soft sound of the water ripple in the wind. A slight wind tickled against my bare legs but it didn't bother me much next to Paul. He was like a space heater – warmth was radiating nicely off of him. I'd asked him if he was sick and he only laughed.

"Why'd you move back here?" We'd been playing 21 questions at dinner, which soon turned into 100 questions and I still felt myself wanting to know more about him. I'd learned that he was an only child and he grew up on the opposite side of the reservation than me, closer to second beach. He didn't really have best friends, but if he had to pick one it'd be Jared Cameron. His parents were very much in love and they were absolutely perfect for each other. His favorite color was blue and he loved zombie movies. He didn't like Leah, which should have bothered me but it didn't. Not very many people liked Leah and at least he was honest. He didn't like her but he understood her because not very many people liked him either.

"My stepdad cheated on my mom so she divorced him," I replied. He nodded, looking out over the water.

Paul sighed deeply and stood up, brushing off his pants. He put his hand out to help me up and I took it gratefully. He'd laid his flannel out on the sand for me to sit on, which I'd found an incredible gesture. He was sweet, in retrospect. Much sweeter than I would have anticipated.

"Sam's probably gonna kill me," Paul said as he pulled into my drive. "Then he's gonna tell me I can't see you anymore."

I raised an eyebrow, fury building up inside me. "Who says Sam has to know?"

Paul shrugged. "He'll find out, trust me."

"Why do you have to listen to him anyways?" I snapped at him.

"It's a job thing – my dad's making me do it," he replied and I realized then that I didn't believe him. Something was going on around the reservation and Sam Uley's name was all over it.

I sighed loudly before I began. "Paul," I started. "I don't know what's going on around here with Sam but you don't have to listen to him. Just because he's your boss at work doesn't mean he owns you. I don't understand – "

"It's just not something that I can talk about, okay?" his voice was hard but his face looked pained.

"What is it? Some top secret rez stuff that I'm not allowed to know about because I'm not full Quileute?"

He was quiet after that and I was pretty sure I knew my answer. Never in my life had I felt so discriminated against. People around here – especially the Black's and the Clearwater's – always made me feel welcome. I was born and raised here and I was always proud of where I came from.

Paul looked ashamed of himself and I was about to tell him that he should be when I realized that none of this was his fault. He didn't want to not tell me, I could see it in his face. This was all Sam Uley and I'd be damned if I wasn't going to figure it out.

"Then I just won't ask questions," I said quietly. He raised an eyebrow at my words. "Obviously this is something that you can't talk about and that's fine. But I had fun tonight and I don't think that Sam Uley should be able to dictate your relationships and you can tell him I said that." I paused for a moment. "I'll even tell him that, if you want?"

He didn't say anything after that. Instead he kissed me with a defiant roughness. His lips were warm and he tasted like the strawberry milkshake he had for dessert. His mouth forced mine open and I had no problem obliging. The kiss was good – wonderful, even – but I'd be lying if I said it had anything on Jacob.

I pushed that thought aside as soon as I could and reached my hands up to tangle in his hair. His fingers traced lightly around my hips and I was blinded by the heat that was everywhere. He pulled back for a quick second, the look in his eyes hungry and loving. He'd told me earlier that he didn't date much and I wondered if that was his way of saying he didn't date at all, considering most people didn't like him.

If so, I decided that people didn't like him simply because they didn't know him well enough, because the Paul that I knew was pretty damn incredible.


	4. Chapter 4

" _Can you spend a little time? Time is slipping away – away from us so stay. Stay with me, I can make – make you glad you came." – The Wanted, Glad You Came._

 **4\. Bella**

I stared absentmindedly at the rusty grill that was in the corner of the garage. I hadn't paid much mind to it since I'd been back but staring now had me going back ten years. I was in the third grade, nine, at the time and I hadn't learned how to control my wild curls yet so they were poking in every direction. Leah and I both went through a tom-boy phase at the same time where we refused to wear dresses and insisted playing in the dirt whenever our mother's gave us free reign. The only girl thing that I wouldn't spit on was my leotard for ballet.

It was also the time in our lives where we wanted to match every single day. We always asked our parents to buy us the same clothes and Leah even went as far as begging for a perm but thankfully Sue always refused.

This was also the time that the boys thought we all had cooties and refused to play with us. We were two years older, though, and we knew that of course cooties didn't exist and even if they did, boys would have them instead of girls.

I remember eating a bratwurst with relish and the world's best macaroni salad. Sue baked a yellow cake with chocolate icing, because that was Sarah's favorite, and she let Jacob help her blow out the candles. It was always one of the best days of the year because her brother would come in from the Makah reservation and set off fireworks in the island in the middle of the ocean and everyone would lay on the beach and Billy would tell the story of the legends.

That was the last birthday we got to celebrate with Sarah and all the years to follow everyone sort of knew to sulk. I hadn't wanted Billy to be alone on this day, though, so I showed up here at eight o'clock this morning to find him passed out in his chair with an empty bottle of cheap vodka in his lap and a pack of cigarettes on the table.

I emptied the remaining cigarettes down the garbage disposal and wondered where he'd gotten them. He stopped smoking years ago and he didn't need to go down that road again. I searched the cabinets for any more liquor and hid the pack of beer that I'd found in the top shelf of the coat closet behind a few blankets. I noticed that the home videos were scattered on the floor in front of the television and I stacked them all back into the cabinet as to not be reminded.

Waking him was the hard part. It looked as though he'd aged ten years since I'd last seen him and I could tell that he was ashamed of himself.

"What time did you pass out?" I asked him carefully, handing him two ibuprofen and a glass of ice water. He downed it quickly and set it on the table next to him.

He shrugged in response and I sighed. "Are you hungry at all? I can make something eggs and bacon."

"No, Lily," his voice was rugged. Worn. It terrified me. "I'd like to just go to sleep if you don't mind. Today isn't a day that I want to be up."

"Well I'm here if you need anything, okay?" I knew better than to try to open him up. When a Black was closed down it was impossible to open him up again. He nodded as he rolled down the short hallway to his room.

I wasn't sure what else to do before I had to go into work at two and I'd strolled down the usually-mowed path that led to Jacob's garage. The grass was starting to grow back and it tugged gently on my heart strings because it was a physical reminder of Jacob's absence.

It looked the same – tools scattered about and the old, white fan was in the same spot it always was. The car that Jacob had been working on for years – the rabbit – was moved aside to make room for a worn down motorcycle and I grinned. He'd always said that he'd have a motorcycle one day and I could ride with him. I always told him that I would never get on one of those but I knew that if he'd been here right now, I'd do anything for him.

I opened the passenger side door of the rabbit and slid in, basking in the feel of the white interior against my skin and closing my eyes. Before long I was drifting off to sleep.

…

It was a scorching ninety-eight degrees out, which was usually unheard of for the Olympic Peninsula. We'd thought about going to the beach, but decided against it since it was swarming with people from every town within a 100-mile radius.

I sat sprawled out on the concrete floor of the garage with the fan blowing right in front of me. Jacob was tinkering with something under the hood of the rabbit and his shirt had been peeled off and tossed to the right of me.

I'd seen him shirtless a thousand times, but it was as if I'd never truly seen him before now. The contours of his chest were just beginning to harden and his arms had defined pleasantly. This was the summer that puberty decided to be good to us. I got boobs and he got muscles.

I watched him carefully, always mesmerized by the way he worked on things. It seemed as though he was working off some sort of steam, almost as if he was angry, which was a side of him that I hadn't seen in years. Just like he could feel me watching him, he looked up at me. His light brown eyes were plastered with sadness and I knew exactly what was bothering him, just like I always seemed to.

"I don't want to leave, either," I spoke softly, standing up and sauntering over to him. There was something about Jacob that made me bold – I never felt shy about touching him or being around him. I suppose that's what friendship did to you, but both of us knew that we were passed friendship.

I placed a steady hand on his cheek, thankful that we were the same height, and let my hand trail down his neck and his chest. Before he could respond, my lips were on his. This kiss was much like the other ones, only a certain feel of desire ran through me.

Ever since I'd come back at the beginning of the summer, we spent our days with Quil and Embry and our nights making out in the garage. We decided to not label whatever it was that we were, knowing that I'd be leaving again and we both had lives to live away from each other. But it was becoming more and more difficult to accept things that way.

I wanted Jacob to be mine and nobody else's.

His grease covered hand came up to the nape of my neck, holding me firmly in place, and I felt my fingers curl at the feel of his hands on me. I pulled away from the kiss, grasping his hand in mine and leading him to the passenger side door of the car.

He sat sideways in the seat, his legs sprawled out towards me. I grinned deviously and climbed on top of him, our mouths colliding once more. This time, though, the kiss was different. Something ignited in both of us at the feel of being so unbelievably close that I suddenly felt Jacob's hands everywhere.

My fingers tangled absentmindedly in his silky hair, my body aching for more of him. His steady hands leaving a tingling sensation as he found the skin on my back between my jean shorts and tank top, and he slowly trailed up. I let my hands wander down his chest, twitching anxiously at the button of his cut-offs, and then curling a finger around the waistband.

Something about this gesture pushed him further, he became eager as his hands pulled the tank top over my head in ease. He eyed my chest for a fraction of a second before his mouth was at my neck, making strange whimpering sounds escape from my mouth as I pushed my hips into his. His lips trailed feathery kisses along my chest, his hands kneading distractingly into my backside.

My hands pulled lustfully at his hair and my breathing started to falter when he found the sensitive spot on my neck. I pushed my hips more forcefully into his this time and he pushed right back, and I couldn't help but feel the excitement coarse through me. He may have only been fifteen but I would have gladly done anything for Jacob Black at that moment, had we not heard the distinct voice of my mother call for me just outside the garage.

We pulled back instantly. "Shit," I cursed in a whisper, snatching my top from the place on the console and hastily tugging it over my head.

"Lily?" my mom appeared in the doorway, her eyes glazed over in confusion. Jacob sank down in the seat and I hopped out of the car, hoping that my face wasn't too flushed.

"Hey, mom," I replied a little breathlessly.

She froze. I froze. Jacob froze.

"Jacob went out somewhere to pee," I explained as she glanced around the garage. She raised her eyebrow and took a few steps towards me, her eyes flitting around.

"It's time to leave," she explained casually.

I nodded. "Okay, I'll wait for him to get back to say goodbye and then I'll be right out."

She turned around as I said that, and I breathed out a small sigh of relief. She stopped just at the edge of the garage, looking back at me. "You've got grease all over you and your tank top is inside out. You might want to fix that before you come back to the house," she said, a smirk on her face. She placed a hand on the car, looking right in the direction of the seat we were just in. "I'll see you next summer, Jacob."

Then she stalked off back towards the house.

…

The coffee shop didn't get a lot of business in the afternoons so Jess and I spent most of our day cleaning random things or talking in the back. Paul came in around four to clean out our muffin cabinet and we flirted over the counter. Things were going fine until Bella walked in with another girl in tow who I assumed was a Cullen.

Paul stiffened immediately and glared shamelessly at them as they walked up. I still hadn't gotten used to the Quileute's weird obsession with hating the Cullen's. Almost everybody on the reservation couldn't stand them and none of it made sense to me. I'd met Edward at dinner a few weeks before and he was nothing but polite too all of us – including Paul.

The dinner had been awkward to say the least but Paul kept his mouth shut until we were gone. My father had thoroughly embarrassed Charlie about his blooming romance with Sue Clearwater and they spoke briefly on Jacob's disappearance and Billy's lack of concern. My father's rude complaints resulted in my defending the Black's earnestly which only upset him further. Needless to say I haven't spoken to my father since.

As for Bella and Edward – there was no doubt in my mind that they were in love. The way that they moved was like some sort of magnetic force and they were always in sync with one another. There wasn't a lot of PDA, but it almost felt too personal to watch them regardless.

I could see why Jacob loved her, too. She was prettier than I'd remembered with her skin a perfect alabaster and her hair wavy with an auburn tint. Her eyes were the same chocolate brown as my father's and every time her eyes met Edward's, she'd blush a deep crimson. Edward was handsome, but he had nothing on Jacob. It almost made me resent Bella for choosing him instead, because to me there's nobody in the world better than the man whose heart she'd broken. But I argued with myself that she probably felt the same way about Edward.

Jessica immediately came up to wait on them while I stayed on the other end of the counter watching them. The girl I didn't know was short and pale with light purple circles under her eyes as if she'd been deprived of sleep. Her black hair was chopped short and I envied how well it suited her. My curly hair and pixie cuts didn't mesh. I also noticed that her eyes were the same caramel color of Edward's and she had to have been under five foot. She was beautiful, though, and when she caught me staring she threw me a bright smile.

"I'm Alice," she grinned happily. "You must be Bella's cousin, Lily?"

I nodded and smiled in return. "Yeah, it's really nice to meet you. You're Edward's sister?" I asked as I moved closer to the three of them. I noticed that Paul didn't move an inch but he was watching us like a hawk.

"Yes, and I'm the best friend of the bride of course," her voice sounded like a song that I could listen to all day.

I quirked an eyebrow. "The wedding planner that I heard about?"

"All good things I hope!" she joked but she didn't look worried. How anybody could say bad things about this beautiful creature was beyond me.

Jessica passed Bella a large cup of coffee and a small chocolate chip cookie. "We're actually in the middle of planning now," Alice chimed. "We needed to get Bella here some caffeine so she could keep up!"

"I've always loved the idea of wedding planning," I said to them. "It's such a nice idea to be surrounded by happiness all the time. Weddings and babies are always the best." I heard Paul choke a little and I laughed. "Not for me right now, of course," I added.

"Well if you like planning we'll stick around for a minute and we can talk weddings when you're not so crowded," she said quietly. I furrowed my eyebrows at her. We were positively dead. The only other person in the shop was Paul.

 _Oh_.

It never really occurred to me that maybe the feeling was mutual between the Quileute's and the Cullen's.

"Maybe," I replied less enthusiastically. Bella grabbed the coffee and muffin and the two of them walked to the farthest table away from us and started their conversation.

I looked to Paul who never took his cold eyes from Alice. Jessica seemed to sense the tension and she disappeared in the back, probably to check the cleaning list.

One thing that I realized that came with a relationship with Paul was his brutal temper. It didn't necessarily scare me but at times I felt a little uneasy. I wondered more than once if he was bipolar but he'd get offensive when I'd bring it up.

I nudged him forcefully with my elbow. "Don't stare at them like that," I scolded. Sometimes I felt like I had a child rather than a boyfriend.

His eyes turned to mine and they were dead serious. "Will you stop telling me what to do? Especially in front of other people!" His voice rose slightly and I stared blankly at him.

"Nobody else is around us, Paul."

"They can hear us," he motioned towards Bella and Alice and I rolled my eyes.

"I'm not dealing with this right now, okay? I'll talk to you when you decide to stop being an asshole," I snapped at him and I saw his hand start to shake. He growled lowly at me and I could feel everybody staring at us.

Paul glared at Alice with all his force before quickly storming out the door.

Jessica came up beside me then. "Well he's a bit of a hot head, huh?" she half-joked and I snorted in response.

It was so dead that we decided to close half an hour early but we let Bella and Alice stay as we cleaned things up. I was washing down the tables and setting up the chairs while Alice flipped through a few bridal magazines.

"Is there any certain theme for the wedding?" I asked them.

Alice grinned at my question. "It's vintage. It's all centered on the ring. It's been in Edward's biological family for years." This confused me. How did they have the same unusual eye color if they weren't biologically related?

Bella held up her hand and I felt my eyes widen. I don't know how I hadn't noticed it before. It was a large oval shape with small diamonds covering the face. It looked good on her hand – like she was meant to wear it.

"Bridesmaid dress?" I asked. She nodded a showed me a picture. It was very vintage and held a lot of elegance. "Any particular colors?"

"We're still deciding on that. We've narrowed it down to three different colors. Quartz, which is like a light lavender, a dusty pink color called blush, and a peach." She pulled a swatch of each from her purse to look at them.

"Outdoor or indoor?"

"Outdoor," she replied immediately. "It's going to be a rustic theme with a variety of flowers and greenery."

I mulled that over for a second while examining the three colors. "I like the lavender best," I said. "I think it would go really good with the earthy tones that is Forks. The green is sort of mossy and it wouldn't contrast with the peach well. The blush is just so light that it's barely visible and I think it would clash with the color of your skin – I'm assuming you're a bridesmaid?"

"Yes," she smiled blindingly. Her eyes were wide with excitement as she stared up at me. "I would love your input on other things. What are you doing after work?"

I glanced back to see Jess watching us and I could practically see the jealousy roll off of her. "I was going to grab food from the diner and head home."

"Well what if you came to our house for dinner instead? We're having Italian food – its Esme's favorite thing to make. We can eat and wedding plan. With yours and Renee's help we could actually have this thing done in time!"

I smiled at her and looked over to Bella for any signs of disapproval. She looked slightly nervous but smiled regardless.

"Sure, I'd love to."


End file.
